Diabetic retinopathy can usually be prevented by controlling diabetes.
If diabetic, make sure that your sugar level has been stable for 2-3 weeks before going to your eye exam, as sugar level affects your vision. Mention all your diseases to your doctor. Many medications cause side effects that can affect vision, or the health of the eye, so tell your doctor about all the medications you take. Legally, you must be at least 18 years old to undergo Lasik surgery in the United States.
Surgeons will wait until your vision is stable, meaning no more changes in prescription before performing lasik. This varies greatly from one person to the next. Some people's vision stabilizes at a very young age. For others, it never does. Sometime after 40 years old, you will develop presbyopia, which means that refractive laser surgery would only correct your distance vision. In other words, you would need to wear reading glasses to perform near tasks. There is one way to get around having to wear readers, after laser surgery: monovision. The dominant eye is set for distance vision and the other eye is set for near vision. Another factor to consider is that the older people get, the more likely they will have dry eyes. Refractive laser surgery worsens dry eyes. If you already have moderate to severe dry eyes, laser may not be an option for you. Amblyopia is a condition where the optic nerve(s) do(es) not develop completely, which means vision is blurry even with glasses on.
If you were prescribed glasses, wear them until at least 16 years of age to make sure that your optic nerves develop completely. Amblyopia can also be caused by cross-eye, congenital cataracts (born with cataracts) or other diseases that block the light from entering the eye and reaching the retina (back of the eye that captures light). So it is very important to have children's eyes examined as young as possible to find out if they have any conditions that need to be resolved before leading to amblyopia. Happy Thanksgiving!
Our office will be closed on Thursday, November 25, 2021 in observance of Thanksgiving. Escondido Eyecare will be closed on Monday, September 6 in observance of Labor Day.
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